Airport security staff suspended

Some 16 security staff have been suspended from work at a major UK airport following a television documentary which revealed serious security lapses, the company said.

ITV1’s Tonight with Trevor McDonald programme showed security staff at Birmingham International Airport reading magazines, doing puzzles and even sleeping instead of examining the luggage of passengers checking in to board flights to the USA.

In a statement, security firm ICTS said 16 staff had been suspended and will face disciplinary actions with “dismissal a potential outcome”.

The firm’s manager at Birmingham has also been removed.

The six-month investigation led by a whistleblower ICTS employee also found planes left unguarded, poor staffing levels and luggage sent for extra checks ignored by officials.

One ICTS employee even boasted about landing his job despite having criminal convictions for grievous bodily harm and drink driving.

ICTS said more experienced staff had been drafted in to Birmingham and a new programme of drug testing for all staff would be introduced – the first of its kind in Europe.

The statement said: “Sixteen staff have been suspended, a number of whom have been advised they will be subject to the company’s disciplinary procedures, with dismissal a potential outcome.

“ICTS’s station manager at Birmingham International Airport has been replaced and we have further strengthened the workforce there by bringing in 30 staff from other airports where we operate.

“These staff are highly experienced supervisors, trainers, auditors and agents. A new drug and alcohol testing programme for all ICTS employees at Birmingham International Airport has been implemented.”